📌 OPC Annual Meeting — Expiring Members

OPC's Annual Meeting

Please join us for this year's annual meeting. We'll provide you an update on everything we've been working on and our plans for the coming year. As you'll see below, you'll have an opportunity to meet with Dr. Mayur Dev and Wayne Brummet, executives from Gaia Technologies, a firm with some emerging technology which OPC is looking at to see if they can help clean up our freshwater ponds.

This year's annual meeting will take place on Saturday morning, October 28th at the Orleans Waterfront Inn. Refreshments will be available at 9:30 and our meeting will start at 10 a.m.

Our annual meeting is open to all current members of OPC. You're invited to attend and we hope you renew your membership at the annual meeting or with a contribution by the end of the year.

Proposed Change to OPC's Bylaws

At this year's annual meeting, we'll be asking you to approve a proposed change to OPC's Bylaws. OPC's current bylaws state:

"Classes of membership and amounts of annual dues shall be recommended by the OPC Board of Directors and voted by the general membership."

We're proposing to modify the bylaws to allow the Board of Directors to set the membership classes and annual dues:

"Classes of membership and amounts of annual dues shall be determine by the OPC Board of Directors."

When we discuss this proposed change, we'd also like your thoughts on the appropriate level of membership dues and how OPC might recognize donors at different membership classes.

Candidates for Directors to the Orleans Pond Coalition

At our annual meeting, we will ask our members to approve the following candidates as directors of the Orleans Pond Coalition:

Judith Bruce: Judith is rejoining the board, having been a board member and president of OPC in past years. Judith currently serves on the Conservation Commission and on the Orleans Water Quality Advisory Panel. Judith has also managed OPC's Mutt Mitts program for many years.

Suzanne Moore: Suzanne and her husband Robert have owned their home on Pochet Inlet in East Orleans since 1988. Suzanne is returning to the Board after her resignation in 2015 forced by family medical issues. She has volunteered as an Advocate at the Lower Cape Outreach Council and is currently serving on the town’s Finance Committee.

Tim Counihan:After a career in the semiconductor industry, Tim, and his wife Carol, have almost completed a seven year transition from Lexington to Orleans. He enjoys tennis, bridge, puttering and kayaking on the beautiful waters of Pleasant Bay. Tim also was a valuable contributor to orchestrating this year's Celebrate Our Waters festival.

Please join us in welcoming these individuals to OPC's board

Gia - Using Nature to Solve Natural Problems

Dr. Mayur Dev and Wayne Brummet will be joining us at this year's annual meeting to introduce us to their promising new technology which, we hope, will help us address some of unhealthy conditions in the freshwater ponds throughout Orleans, throughout Cape Cod, and increasingly throughout North America. Their presentation is particularly timely considering this year's severe outbreaks of algae on freshwater ponds throughout North America.

As you'll hear, Gaia's solution combines ultra-fine oxygen bubbles delivered to bottom of a pond with beneficial bacteria selected according to the actual conditions in a pond. At less than 0.1 microns each, the ultra-fine oxygen bubbles remain in suspension far longer than traditional aeration systems. The ultra-fine oxygen bubbles combine with the beneficial bacteria to improve the oxygen levels at the bottom of the pond while simultaneously reducing the sludge build up on the pond.

Gaia Technology is based in Victoria, British Columbia, and their US headquarters is based in Phoenix. Gaia is working with Pathway Biologic, based in Plant City Florida, a leader in the formulation of biological products in agricultural and related fields.

We look forward to learning more about the experience Gaia and Pathway Biologic bring to this area and about their perspective on why this proposed natural-based solution is more cost-effective and competitive than traditional aeration solutions or chemical-based approaches. We also welcome the chance to sit with them face-to-face and talk about how we would need to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of this solution to regulators in Orleans, on Cape Cod, and at the state.

About Orleans Pond Coalition

Orleans Pond Coalition, Inc. is a volunteer organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the saltwater estuaries and freshwater ponds and lakes of Orleans.
Our work includes offering educational programs to encourage mindful land use practices, sponsoring water quality research, working with community, regional and state organizations to formulate constructive policies to protect our … Learn More

Our Mission

Orleans Pond Coalition is dedicated to the protection and health of our shared watersheds, estuaries, ponds and lakes.